Audio CD review:
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV

Band: Led Zeppelin Title: Led Zeppelin IV Rating: Release Date: 08 July, 2003 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Black Dog 2: Rock and Roll 3: Battle of Evermore 4: Stairway to Heaven 5: Misty Mountain Hop 6: Four Sticks 7: Going to California 8: When the Levee Breaks

Customer Reviews Not THAT good, but entertaining nonetheless Zep I was a good little blues-rock album; II perfected the group's hard-rock swagger; III was surprisingly delicate with their best songwriting to date; Houses of the Holy was diverse and fun, containing my favorite of their songs (Over the Hills and Far Away); Physical Graffiti was bloated, but amusingly so and with some really good songs (Especially Kashmir and Ten Years Gone). Out of Led Zeppelin's first six albums, I find the most critically and commericially lauded to be the weakest, as such things often go. This has its moments, but overall it isn't any better than the surrounding albums. Let's see, Black Dog is an okay song: good guitar parts, but run-of-the-mill lyrics that sound like the invention of a horny high schooler. Rock and Roll is a top-notched tune: powerhouse drumming, all kinds of cool riffs. Battle of Evermore has a nice folky mystical vibe and excellent vocals by Sandy Denny, annoying vocals by Robert Plant. So what else is new? Stairway to Heaven is sacred ground to most Zeppelin fans, but in truth there are far better songs out there. I won't comment on its radio play - the fact is, for all the virtue of Page's guitar parts, I see the lyrics as rather silly pompous pseudomystical nonsense. The riff and guitar solo are what legends are made of, though. After that, proceed with caution! Out of the last four songs, one is the overall best song on the album, one is the worst, and two fall in the "bad" camp. Misty Mountain Hop is one of the more annoying songs on the album: it's not as funny as it wants to be, and that keyboard riff doesn't do a thing for me. I know it was a big hit and it's highly regarded, but I don't like it one bit. Four Sticks is even worse, a disgrace to Zeppelin's respectable name. Sorry, but I can't stand this song at all: the buzzing synthesizer sound effect thing, the shrieked vocals, and the rambling, boring lyrics about rivers running dry (could be a dirty metaphor, of course, given the group) just bug me immensly. Goin' to California isn't much better, sensitivity from a group with the subtlety of a sledgehammer: they had already done some good stuff with being sensitive on III, and would do so again with the Rain Song and Ten Years Gone, but this just sounds forced. And this segways right into my favorite: When the Levee Breaks, a tremendous blues jam. Everything about that song screams "awesome"; thundering drum intro, excellent blues riff, wailing harmonica. . . cool! So a bunch of people are gonna vote me not helpful for this, but I don't care. Some people will probably flame me. I will ignore them. That's all, I guess. 1994 vs 2003 There is little, if any, difference between the two. If your looking for a better sounding remaster from the 2003 cd and already own the 1994 version, keep the 1994 version. If you want the cool mini-lp packaging, get it, it's a real nice collectible. THE STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN ALBUM ,RUNES,ZOSO ONE OF THE BEST TO PUT IT MILDLY,IT'S A GREAT ALBUM BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S ZEPPELINS BEST I THINK "PHYSICAL GRAFFITTI WAS THEIR BEST CD OF ALL TIME,THANK GOD BONHAM WAS STILL AROUND FOR THAT ONE. . You can see a complete list of all Led Zeppelin discography, or go back to the Led Zeppelin tabs